The UConn football team doesn’t have any appearances scheduled for Michigan’s Big House or in South Bend, Ind., but the Huskies are now focusing on preparations for their first road game of the season. After opening the season with a 35-3 victory over Fordham Saturday at Rentschler Field, coach Paul Pasqualoni said Sunday he has concerns about his young team’s ability to handle a hostile crowd.
That anxiety is amplified by the fact UConn is likely to continue rotating three inexperienced quarterbacks at Vanderbilt Saturday.
“Oh yeah, we’re definitely concerned,” Pasqualoni said when asked about taking the Huskies on the road the first time. “Any time you’re on the road and you’re playing a quality opponent [it’s a concern]. Vanderbilt’s an SEC team. Obviously, we’ve got to be very mature about this, especially at the quarterback position and being in that stadium.
“And I’m concerned about the tailbacks, because we’ve got young, inexperienced people there. They’re going to have to take care of the ball. We can’t turn the ball over down there. That would be a recipe for disaster.”
One year ago Sunday, the Huskies opened their 2010 season at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor. Trailing the Wolverines 24-10 late in the third quarter, tailback D.J. Shoemate fumbled on a fourth down play after he had picked up a first down. Shoemate never got back in the good graces of then-coach Randy Edsall. But he worked hard in spring ball and fall camp to prove to Pasqualoni that he won’t be careless with the ball.
Shoemate had been expected to get the start at tailback against Fordham but he sprained an ankle in drills Thursday and Pasqualoni decided to go with redshirt freshman Lyle McCombs. McCombs made the most of the opportunity, carrying 24 times for 141 yards and four touchdowns after being told he was starting during pre-game stretching.
The Huskies were comfortable at home against Fordham Saturday but must hit the road to play Vanderbilt on Sept. 10.
Pasqualoni hopes that holding out Shoemate against Fordham will give the senior transfer from USC time to fully heal.
“We had him dressed and ready to go,” Pasqualoni said of Shoemate. “But I told him I was going to go cautiously with it. I didn’t want to set him back for this week. I wanted him ahead of the rehab for this week, starting [Monday] when we start practice again. So I said to him, ‘You’ve got to trust our judgement here – the trainer, the doctor and myself.’ We’re going to do what’s right. He was obviously disappointed.”
Vanderbilt (1-0) defeated Elon 45-14 Saturday before a crowd of 27,599 at Vanderbilt Stadium in Nashville. First-year coach James Franklin gambled on fourth down three times to keep drives alive and the result was 17 points. Larry Smith threw for two touchdowns and passed for another as the Commodores snapped a seven-game losing streak. Elon outgained Vandy 323-309 but three Elon turnovers led to three Vandy TDs.
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